Black Bird Press News & Review

Saturday, April 23, 2016

John Coltrane - Blue train

Ishmael Reed says Marvin X is Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland!

photo Kamau Amen Ra

Marvin X as Plato

By Marvin X

After stopping by Marvin X's outdoor classroom at 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland, Ishmael Reed told the students gathered around Marvin X, "He's the modern day Plato, teaching his students on the street." Marvin told the people gathered in front on DeLauer's bookstore, "Ishmael Reed is my elder. He's always been supportive of my projects and I deeply appreciate him for this."

Ishmael had come to the bookstore /24/7 new stand to get a copy of the Sunday Los Angeles Times which carried a review of his latest book. He said the review cut him up as usual. He said people cut him up for his views on Alice Walker and other feminists, but according to Ishmael the most critical review of Walker's Color Purple was by Toni Morrison.

The people who stop at the open air classroom include a cross section of Oakland's humanity, including whites, blacks, youth and elders. David Glover, director of OCCUR, stopped through to advise Marvin to be a part of the cultural committee for the Ron Dellums administration soon to take the reins of Oakland.

A young sister stopped to say she was in pain because her friends are being killed on the streets for no reason. She has vowed not to be a victim but she is traumatized at the loss of some many friends. She is 19.

The police officer who works the beat that includes 14th and Broadway, comes through picking up litter. Seems a waste of time for the officer to pick up litter when there are so many unsolved homicides. The officer is known to post up at 12 o'clock to listen to Plato talk with his variety of students.

A brother came by to challenge Plato, telling him he didn't know anything, especially since he wasn't from the south, New Orleans in particular. Plato told him New Orleans was as much a killing floor as Oakland, look at the recent deployment of National Guard to stop the murders.

Another brother came through and invited Marvin to speak with youth at a West Oakland school. He agreed, telling the brother, "I recently spoke with children at the Black Repertory Group's summer camp. I was deeply impressed with their intelligence. They asked serious questions, as serious as any I've received from college and university students across the country."

On Sunday, July 30, Plato was given a book party in Richmond, another Bay Area killing floor. But the party, hosted by Sister Shukuru, was probably the most powerful gathering of black consciousness people in Richmond history. The party was attended by movement elders and organizers, including Alona Cliffton, Phil Hutchins of SNCC, Margo Dashiel, Dr. James Garrett, Dr. J. Vern Cromartie, Jim Lacey, Ann Lynch, Suzzette Celeste, Richmond poet President Davis representing conscious hip hop.

Poet Opal Palmer Adisa gave a reading of her work that was as spicy and hot as a two dollar pistol in South Philly.

The audience was enraptured by the musical accompaniment of Elliott Bey Savoy, who backed Marvin's reading and the audience discussion. A brother showed a video of himself reading Marvin X's poem The Origin of Blackness in Venezuela. He read in Spanish, then English. The poem was originally written in English/Arabic. Marvin then read an updated version on the theme of the poem, Black History is World History. Much thanks to Sister Shukuru, a great organizer, formerly with Brooklyn's East.

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photo Pendarvis Harshaw

posted 3 August 2006 /Chickenbones.com

Miles Davis - So What

Cover art by Emory Douglas, Love and War, poems by Marvin X, 1995

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519P6v0E7nL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Marvin X poem Apology to My Higher Self and Miles Davis - Time After Time (Live 1985)

Apology to My Higher Self

Oh, Higher Self

I apologize to you

Greater Self

Holy Self

Righteous Self

I seek to harm no one

but to glorify You always and forever

Have mercy on me

have mercy on myself

Oh, Higher Self

pleae forgive me for allowing my lower self to rule

Please have mercy on me Higher Self, Divine Self

If I will only flow in the flow of You

pick me up Higher Self

when my lower self comes to call

the whispering devil whispers into the hearts of men

and women and children

to take us all down under

to the thrashing floor

the road where wise men fear to tread

down in the dungeon

rat hole

I become the rat

associating with the rats

dwelling in the dungeon

of my mind

Lift me up Highter Power

let me dwell with You forever

in the Upper Room

surely I know truth from lies

surely I know fire from water

yet I walk into the fire

I am burned again again again

easy to lead in the wrong direction

hard to lead in the right direction,

the Elijah lesson teach us

And why do we love the devil

because he gives us nothing!

Take me Higher Power

into your loving hands

save me from the fire

whose fuel is men and stones,

Qur'an.

let not the weakness of my lower self

ontrol me

let me cast away illusions

a donkey is not a stalion

Oh Higher Power

catch me if I fall

take me forward faster

time after time

time after time.

--Marvin X

9/28/14

from Sweet Tea/Dirty Rice, New and Selected Poems, 2016, Marvin X, Black Bird Press, Berkeley CA, unpublished.